Tantra as a continuum: Hindu-Buddha continuum of Dharma-Dhamma

June 19, 2005

Srinivasan Kalyanaraman <kalyan97@g...> wrote:

The word 'tantra' means 'continuum (as a thread)'. The smooth

transition of tantra from sanatana dharma through tantra of Buddha

tradition is an unexplored subject area of study.

Sanatana Dharma and Buddha Dhamma were evolutions of Bharatiya

thought

centred on the concept of 'non-duality' (advaita). The smooth

elaboration of sanatana dharma metaphors of Bali into the Buddha

metaphors of Borobudur is one evidence pointing to this continuum of

thought.

Indologists have done disservice to study of knowledge systems by

positing a false dichotomy such as hindu versus buddha. IE

linguistics

has also done a disservice by not studying the substratum of

austro-asiatic languages which could explain the linguistic area of

Sarasvati-Sindhu river basins of circa 4th millennium BCE.

Thus we have to areas of study: tantra and bharatiya language. How

else can one explain that the message of sanatana dharma and Buddha

dhamma could be conveyed so easily across so-called language

barriers,

from Taxila to Thailand and along the Silk Road?

The key will lie in unraveling the nagavams'a, naga connoting the

world of the seas, because our ancestors of this region were

sea-farers who could transcend later-day artificial state boundaries.

Dhanyavaadah.

K.

Dialogue July - September, 2003 , Volume 5 No. 1

Looking East

South East Asia lies to the immediate neighbourhood of India to the

east and south-east. India had, and still has, close cultural,

economic and religious links with South East Asia. It is mutually

beneficial for India and South East Asia to strengthen their cultural

and economic ties and work together to tackle the problem of

terrorism, drug trafficking, smuggling, including smuggling of arms,

etc.

Sankalpa (a solemn vow) is initial part of any Hindu ritual, It

pointedly mentions the space, time and identity of the individual.

While mentioning the location of the performer, the mantra begins by

mentioning, "in Jambudvipa, in Bharat Varsa, in Bharat Khanda", and

continues to give smaller geographical details of the location of the

person. Mount Meru, according to the Puranas is in the centre of

Jambudvipa. It is Pamir knot. In four direction of the same, like

four

petals, are spread four varsas; Europe to the west, Russia and

Central

and North Asia to the north; China and other parts of East Asia to

the

east; and South and South East Asia to the south. Thus, Jambudvipa,

practically, includes entire Eurasia. South and South-East Asia is

included in Bharat Varsa. Bharat Khand, a part of Bharat Varsa, is

Indian sub-continent. Thus, Hindus, performing Puja, remember entire

Eurasia, as well as India and South East Asia every day. Of course,

many Indians do so and utter the mantras, without understanding the

meaning and its significance. Most Indians know even less about South

East Asia. The communication gap is wide.

We need to know South East Asia not only because it lies in our

immediate neighbourhood and we had age-old ties with the region. We

need it also because it deepens our understanding about ourselves.

South East Asia forms a part of India-centric cultural continuum. A

cursory look at the history, culture and the religion of the region

from ancient time to the present day reveal the common elements. The

continuum operates at several levels, in terms of the geographical

spread, in the depth and at perceptional levels. India and South East

Asia share the perceptions of divine kingship, apotheosis/

deification

of kings, cult syncretism, composite cult emblems, law, bureaucratic

government and expressions in the arts, norms, values and the ethos.

The figure of Ardhanari in Java combines the bodies of lord Shiva and

Durga with their proper attributes. Combined images of Trimurti

(Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) and that of Shiva, Surya and Brahma have

been found in Java. Mention may also be made of Hari-Hara image of

the

Simping in Eastern Java. The concept of 'Hari-Hara', 'Ardhanarishwar'

and 'Panchayatan Puja' (worshipping five gods together) in India; and

the writing of the Nicolo seal of Central Asia ('Miarark, Yasnu,

Oezo', meaning Mihir, Vedic Mitra or the Sun God, Vishnu, Isha or

Shiva') point towards the same phenomenon. The popular saying in

Bali,

"ya Shiva, ya Buddha" (He who is Shiva is Buddha) and identification

of the Surya and the Shiva in Surya-sevana (Sun-worship) in Indonesia

point towards the continuum in 'Advaita' frame. There is enough to

show the syncretic nature of animism and Hinduism, as for example

Javanese animism and Hinduism, in South East Asia. Lord Buddha is the

incarnation of Lord Vishnu for the Hindus. Buddhism vanished from

Indian soil due to Turkic invasion.

The present Thai kings of Chakri dynasty are named 'Rama'. An earlier

capital of Thailand was Ayuthia (Ayodhya). The country has thousands

of families of Brahmin priests. The concepts of Chakravartin (the

ruler of the Jambudvipa, the human world), digvijayin (conquerer of

four quarters), Rajasuya (the royal consecration), the royal

cornation

as Indrabhiseka ceremony, myths associates Shiva and Vishnu

interwoven

in rituals and ceremonies, etc can not be explained in the colonial

'Divide frame' in a Buddhist country like Thailand. Indonesia,

continues to have pre-Islamic Hindu-Buddhist culture. The unity and

similarity in the concepts of culture and philosophy of aesthetics,

art of living, bind India and South East Asia. There is striking

similarity in our myths, historical precepts, architecture, music

drama, medicine, warfare, thought process, verbal expressions, art of

living, etc. The overwhelming unity and similarity in such a vast

area

clearly indicate that the Isolationist Theory, and Racial

interpretation of our society and culture', have no basis. The facts

discussed earlier, support Hindu-Buddhist continuum, rather than

Hindu-Buddhist divide. The common cultural concepts have evolved in a

large area during scores of centuries and there is no question as to

who is the donor and who is the acceptor. It is essential to do away

with the intentional misinterpretation of our society and culture to

enable us to acquire positive interface and healthy outlook.

Awareness

about South East Asian culture helps in removing the perceptional

haziness.

—B.B. Kumar

http://www.asthabharati.org/Dia_jul03/edit.htm

Buddhist Tantra: Some Introductory Remarks

His Holiness Sakya Trizin

There is a common misconception among many non-Buddhists (and even

among certain Buddhists) that the Tantras are late and corrupt

additions to the Buddha's Teachings. This is false. The Tantras are

genuine teachings of the Lord Buddha, and they occupy a paramount

position withtin the overall flamework of Buddhist doctrine.

Some of the misconceptions about the Tantras stem from their esoteric

nature. Since the time of the Buddha the Tantras were always taught

secretly and selectively. For their correct understanding they have

always required the oral instructios of a qualified master; without

such

explanations they can easily be misunderstood in wrong and harmful

ways. In order to uphold this tradition I am prevented from

discussing

most aspects of Tantra here. But it is perhaps permissible here to

say

a few general things about Buddhist Tantra and about how it is

shall base myself on the teachings of our tradition such as the Rgyud

sde spyi'i rnam gzhag ("General System of the Tantras") of Lobpon

Sonam Tsemo.

WHAT IS TANTRA?

In Tibetan tradition the word Tantra (rgyud) nomrally refers to a

special class of the Buddha's teachings like the Kriya, Carya, Yoga

and Anuttarayoga Tantras, and more specifically to the scriptures

that

embody it, such as the Hevajratantra, the Kalacakratantra,

and the Guhyasamajatantra. But contrary to its English usage, the

word

does not usually refer to the whole system of Tantric practice and

theory. For the doctrinal system of Tantra, the terms Mantrayana

("Mantra Vehicle") and Vajrayana ("Vajra" or "Adamantine Vehicle")

are used instead.

In its technical sense the word Tantra means "continuum". In

particular, Tantra refers to one's own mind as non-dual Wisdom

(jnana); it exists as a continuum because there is an unbroken

continuation of mind from beginningless time until the attainment of

Buddhahood.

This continuum, moreover, has three aspects or stages; the causal

continuum, the continuum involved in applied method, and the

resultant

continuum. Sentient creatures in ordinary cyclic existence (samsara)

are the "causal continuum". Those who are engaged in methods of

gaining liberation are the "continuum involved in the method". And

those who have achieved the ultimate spiritual fruit, the Body of

Wisdom, are the "resultant continuum". The causal continuum is so

called because there exists in it the potential for producing a fruit

is not actually manifested. It is like a seed kept in a container.

"Method" is so called because there exists means or methods by which

the result latent in the cause can be brought out. "Method" is like

the water and fertilizer needed for growing a plant. "Fruit" or

"result" refers to the actualization of the result that was latent in

the cause. This is like the ripened flower that results when one has

planted the seed and properly cultivated the plant.

THE PLACE OF TANTRA IN THE BUDDHIST TEACHINGS

In His infinite compassion, wisdom and power the Lord Buddha gave

innumerable different teachings aimed at helping countless beings of

different mentalities. These teachings can be classified into two

main classes: 1) the Sravakayana (which includes the present

Theravada),

and 2) the Mahayana. The Sravakayana (sometimes also called the

Hinayana) is mainly aimed at individual salvation, which the Mahayana

stresses the universal ideal of the Bodhisattva ("the Being intent

upon Enlightenment") who selflessly strives for the liberation of all

beings, vowing to remain in cyclic existence until all others are

liberated. The Mahayana or Great Vehicle can also be divided into

two: 1) the Paramitayana ("Perfection Vehicle") which we also call

the

"Causal

Vehicle" because in it the Bodhisattva's moral perfections are

cultivated as the causes of future Buddhahood, and 2) the Mantrayana

("Mantra Vehicle"), which is also known as the "Resultant Vehicle"

because through its special practices one realizes the Wisdom of

Enlightenment as actually present.

THE SPIRITUAL FRUIT TO BE ATTAINED THROUGH TANTRA

The spiritual fruit that is aimed at in both branches of Mahayana

practice is the Perfect Awakening or Enlightenment of Buddhahood. A

Perfectly awakened Buddha is one who has correctly understood the

status of all knowable things in ultimate reality, who possess

consummate bliss that is free from the impurities, and who has

eliminated all stains of the obscurations. The latter

characteristic -

the freedom from the obscurations - is a cause for other features of

Buddhahood. It consists of the elimination of three types of

obscurations or impediments: those defilements such as hatred and

desire, those that obscure one's knowledge of reality as it is and in

its multiplicity, and those that pertain to the meditative

attainments.

THE PATH THAT LEADS TO THE FRUIT

We speak of a method of spiritual practice as a "path" because it is

a

means by which one reaches the spiritual destination that one is

aiming at. There are two types of path. One consists of the common

paths that lead to inferior results, and the other is the

extraordinary path that

leads to the highest goal.

INFERIOR PATHS

Some religions or philosophical traditions while claiming to yield

good results actually lead their practitioners to undesirable

destinations. For instance, the inferiors Tirthikas (non-Buddhist

Indian schools) as well as those who propound Nihilism only lead

their

followers to rebirths in

the miserable realms of existence. The higher Tirthikas can lead one

to the acquisition of a rebirth in the higher realms, but not to

liberation. And even the paths of Sravakayana and Pratyekabuddhayana

are inferior, for they lead only to simply liberation, and not to

complete

Buddhahood.

THE SPECIAL PATH

The special path is the Mahayana. It is superior to both non-Buddhist

paths and the lower Buddhist paths for it alone is the means by which

perfect Buddhahood can be attained. It is superior to all other

paths

for four particular reasons. It is a better means for removing

suffering,

it is without attachment to cyclic existence, as a method of

liberation it is the vehicle of Buddhahood, and it does not desire

only liberation for it is the path of existence and quiescence

equally, in which emptiness and compassion are taught as being

non-dual.

THE DIVISIONS OF THE MAHAYANA

The Mahayana itself has two major divisions. As mentioned above,

these

are the Perfection Vehicle and the Secret-Mantra Vehicle. The first

of

these is also termed the general Mahayana because it is held in

common

with both Mahayana divisions, whereas the second is termed the

particular because its special profound and vast doctrines are not

found withtin the general tradition. The two vehicles derive their

names from the practices predominating withtin them. In the

Perfection

Vehicle the practices of the Bodhisattva's perfections (paramita)

predominate, and in the Secret-Mantra Vehicle the practices of mantra

and related meditations, such as the two stages of Creation and

Completion in visualizing the Mandala and the Deity, the mantra

recitation and various secret and profound yogas, predominate.

One essential difference between the two Mahayana approaches can be

explained by way of their approach to the sensory objects which are

the basis for both cyclic existence and Nirvana. In the Perfection

Vehicle one tries to banish the five classes of sensory objects

outright.

One first restrains oneself physically and verbally from overt

misdeeds regarding the objects of sense desire, and then through

texts

and reasoning one learns about their nature. Afterwards through

meditative realization one removes all of one's attachment to them.

This is done on the surface level through meditatively cultivating

the

antidote to the defilements, such as by cultivating love as antidote

to anger, and a view of the repulsiveness of the sense objects as the

antidote to desire. And on the ultimate level one removes one's

attachment through understanding and meditatively realizing that all

of these objects in fact are without any independent self-nature.

In the Mantra Vehicle too one begins by restraining oneself outwardly

(the essential basis for one's conduct is the morality of the

Pratimoksa and Bodhisattva), but in one's attittude toward the sense

objects one does not try to eliminate them directly. Some will of

course object that such objects of sensory desire can only act as

fetters that prevent one's liberation, and that they must be

eliminated. Though this is true for the ordinary individual who lacks

skilful methods, for the practitioner who possesses skilful means

those very sense objects will help in the attainment of liberation.

It

is like fire which when out of control can cause great damage, but

when used properly and skilfully is very beneficial. While for lower

schools the sense objects arise as the enemies of one's religious

practice, here they arise as one's teachers.

Moreover, sense objects do not act as fetters by their natures,

rather, one is fettered by the erroneous conceptual thoughts that are

based on them.

THE SUPERIORITY OF VAJRAYANA OVER PARAMITAYANA

The Secret-Mantra Vehicle is superior to the Perfection Vehicle from

several points of view, but its superiority primarily rests in the

greater efficacy and skilfulness of its methods. Through Mantrayana

practices, a person of superior faculties can attain Awakening in a

single lifetime.

One of midding faculties can attain Awakening in the after-death

period (bardo). And one of inferior faculties who observes the

commitments will attain enlightenment in from seven to sixteen

lifetimes. These are much shorter periods than the three

"immeasurable" aeons required through the Paramitayana practices. But

even though the Mantra Vehicle is thus superior in skilful methods,

its view of ultimate reality is identical with the Madhyamika view of

the general Mahayana. For both schools the ultimate reality is devoid

of all discursive developments or

elaborations (nisprapanca). One view cannot be higher than the other

since "higher" and "lower" are themselves but discursive developments

or conceptualizations.

PREPARATIONS AND PREREQUISITES FOR TANTRIC PRACTICE

The foregoing has been a general introduction to a few of the basis

ideas of Buddhist Tantra. The real question is how to apply these

theoretical considerations in a useful way, that is how to practice

them. The practice of Mantrayana and further in-depth study of its

philosophy requires first of all a special initiation from a

qualified

master.

IMPORTANCE OF THE GURU

One must seek an carefully choose a Guru who has all the

qualifications to teach the Tantras; for instance he himself must

have

received all the necessary initiations and explanations from a

qualified Teacher, done long retreats, and learned all the rituals,

mudras, drawing of Mandalas,

etc. He must also have received signs of spiritual attainments. It is

also very important to find a Guru with whom one has a connection by

karma. In any case it is imperative to find a Guru, and one should

not

practise without a teacher, especially withtin the Vajrayana. One

cannot get any result by merely studying a text. It is said in the

Tantras that the Guru is the root and source of all the siddhis and

of

all realization.

QUALITIES OF THE DISCIPLE

Before one can be initiated one will first examined by the teacher

who

will ascertain whether one is a fit receptable for the teachings. The

main qualities required are faith, compassion and Bodhicitta (the

Enlightenment Thought). A major empowerment is never given to those

who have not developed Bodhicitta to a higher degree. In this way

both

the student and the teacher must examine each other carefully.

IMPORTANCE OF THE TRANSMISSION

When the right Guru is found, one should then request him for

initiation and explanations. In Vajrayana it is necessary to receive

the Wangkur (Empowerment or Initiation), the transmission or

permission to practice the Tantra, without which one cannot practise

anything. The transmission is particularly important in Vajrayana and

the Lama (Guru) assures the continuity of a line of direct

transmission through a succession of teachers. This line of

transmission has been unbroken since the Lord Sakyamuni Buddha set

into motion the Wheel

of Dharma. Not only must there be this line of Transmission, but also

there must be a line of practice, that has kept the lineage alive.

VOWS AND PRACITCE

After one has been led into glorious mandala by the master, one

begins

one's practice, carefully observing the various vows and commitments

of the Vajrayana. These vows are primarily mental, and such they can

be even difficult than those of the Pratimoksa and Bodhisattva

systems. One must also devote oneself to further study, and to

practising the

specialized visualizations and yogas according to the master's

instructions.

BUDDHIST VERSUS HINDU TANTRA

Buddhist Tantra is thus distinguished from the other branches of

Mahayana by its special methods. It is, however, identical to the

Mahayana Madhyamika in its ultimate view, and it is the same as all

Mahayana schools regarding its aim and motivation. Hindu Tantra by

contrast has different philosophical basis and motivation, even

though

it shares some of the same practical methodology. Some persons must

have suggested that Buddhist Tantra must not belong to pure Buddhism

because it shares many elements of practice within the Hindus.

This is specious reasoning because certain methods are bound to be

shared by different religious traditions. Suppose we had to abandon

each and every element of practice shared with Hindu traditions. In

that case we would have to give up generosity, morality, and much

more!

There are of course many further differences between Buddhist and

Hindu Tantra in their meditative practices, and so forth. But I shall

not attempt to explicate them since my own first-hand knowledge is

limited to the Buddhist tradition. Here it will be enough to stress

that Buddhist Vajrayana presupposes the taking of refuge in the

Buddha, Dharma and Sangha (and the Guru as the embodiment of those

three), the understanding of Emptiness (sunyata), and the cultivation

of love, compassion and Bodhicitta (the Enlightenment Thought). And I

must again underline the importance of Bodhicitta, which is the firm

resolve to attain perfect Buddhahood in order to benefit all sentient

creatures, through one's great wish that they be happy and free from

sorrow. These distinguishing features are not found in the

non-Buddhist Tantras.

CONCLUSION

The study of Tantra can only be fruitful if one can apply it through

practice, and to do this one must find, serve and carefully follow a

qualified master. If one finds one's true teacher and is graced by

his

blessings one can make swift progress towards the goal, Perfect

Awakening for the benefit of all creatures. In composing this account

I am mindful of my own immeasurable debt of gratitude of my own kind

masters. Here I have tried to be true to their teachings and to those

of the other great masters of our lineage without divulging that

which

is forbidden to be taught publicly. I will consider my efforts to

have

been worthwhile if some harmful misunderstandings have been

dispelled.

May all beings come to enjoy the true happiness of Buddhahood!

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Ithaca/4886/remarks.htm

--- End forwarded message ---

BuddhaShiva1 · May 30, 2011

Yes absolutely, Hinduism (especially Vedanta), and Buddhism, are not separate, but a continuum! A beautiful continuum! They are not identical certainly.

But they are not separate either. They are one single, beautiful system of thought. That is the very reason for my username! Thank you for this forum.